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Wednesday, April 24, 2019

Blog Tour: Excerpt of Hide and Seek by Mary Burton

Author: Mary Burton

Release Date: April 23, 2019

Publisher: Montlake Romance

Special Agent Macy Crow is a survivor. After a vicious hit-and-run
nearly kills her, she gets right back to work, and now she’s gunning for a spot
on the FBI’s elite profiling team. As an audition, she offers to investigate
the recently discovered bones of Tobi Turner, a high school girl who
disappeared fifteen years ago.

While investigating with local sheriff Mike Nevada, a former colleague and
onetime lover, Macy discovers a link between Tobi’s case and several others
that occurred around the same time as her disappearance. As Macy interviews
victims and examines old cases, she uncovers a sinister picture of a stalker
who graduated to sexual assault—and then murder.

Macy and Nevada race to put this monster behind bars before he can come out of
hiding. But the murderer’s had years to hone his skills, and soon Macy herself
becomes a target. She’s no stranger to pain and terror, but will Macy’s first
profiling case be her last?

Excerpt: Hide
and Seek by Mary Burton

Vivid blue sky, white clouds, and golden fall leaves blanketed the
Blue Ridge and Allegheny mountains and created a picture-perfect day in the
valley. In Macy’s book, the beauty was wasted. If she had God’s ear, today
would have been cold, overcast, and damp. Save the pretty days until she caught
this killer.

As she drove south down I-81, Macy mentally replayed her ten
minutes of regional research. In the last couple of decades, the Shenandoah
Valley’s population had ballooned thanks to a growing university, its proximity
to Washington, DC, and a thriving tourism trade peddling vineyards, Civil War
battlefields, and railroad museums. Filling in the economic gaps were warehouse
distribution centers, chain hotels, and strip malls.

The voice of Macy’s GPS cut through AC/DC’s Back in Black
blasting from her playlist and instructed her to take the upcoming exit toward
Deep Run. As she rolled onto Route 250, a sign for her go-to fast-food eatery
gave her an excuse to stretch her legs before driving the remaining ten miles
to the crime scene.

Parking, she gingerly rose up out of the car. Her leg hurt.
Stretches weren’t optional any more. She grabbed her ankle and pulled until the
bunched muscles in her thigh released. After a quick walk around the lot, she
made a beeline for the restaurant bathroom.

She glanced into the mirror as she washed her hands. Even after
five months, she still didn’t recognize the woman with the short hair and thin
face.

Nevada was in for a rude awakening.

She wiped her face with a paper towel. “Macy Crow, you’re above ground
and headed in the right direction. That’s what counts.”

At the counter, she ordered a supersize bucket of fries and a
large soda. It wasn’t that she loved the food—okay, maybe she did love the
fries—but the chain restaurant’s predictability and sameness was comforting
after so many life changes.

A few fries later, she was in her car and backing out of her space
when her phone rang. Nevada’s number appeared. She cleared her throat and sat a
little taller.

“Agent Macy Crow,” she said.

“Ramsey tells me you’re on your way. Where are you?”

He was direct, rarely charming, and she always knew where she
stood with him. “Fifteen minutes from the barn.”

“I’m here now.”

The transition back into a working relationship appeared
effortless. Whatever they had was over and done. No hard feelings.

“See you soon,” she said.

En route on the interstate, she ate her fries and drained her
soda. There were no guarantees on when the next meal would be.

The last few miles took her down smaller roads until she spotted
the driveway marked by stacked stones. Gravel crunched under her tires as she
passed a freshly cleared field. Over the rise of a hill, she saw the old barn
encircled by yellow crime scene tape.

When she had been researching the area, slogans such as “Best
Quality of Life” and “Raise Your Family in Deep Run” popped up on her computer
screen. As she had read about the area, she had kept glancing toward her open
case file filled with images of Tobi Turner’s scattered bones. Recent pictures
had captured the barn surrounded by dozens of state and local law enforcement
vehicles crammed side by side in the grassy field.

Now as Macy parked, she noted that all the vehicles were gone
expect for a lone black SUV. She grabbed her Glock from the glove box,
holstered it, and stepped out of her car. Her worn hiking boots sloshed in the
damp muddy soil. She tugged on an FBI windbreaker and draped her FBI
credentials around her neck. As a stiff breeze blew a lingering chill and
autumn scents, she checked her pockets for latex gloves, sunglasses, a small
pocketknife, and pendant light.

Edginess and excitement fused as she strode toward the stretch of
yellow tape and searched for Nevada. She ducked under the tape and stepped
inside the barn.

New York Times and USA Today bestselling novelist Mary Burton is
the highly praised author of twenty-six romance and suspense novels and five
novellas. She lives in Virginia with her husband and three miniature
dachshunds.

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